2020 Liberation Seder, London - Cancelled due to Corona Virus
When: Saturday, April 11th, 6:30 pm to 9:30 p.m.
Location: Valleyview Mennonite Church
1170 Melsandra Avenue
London, Ontario N5Y 4N9
(closest main intersection: Highbury Avenue and Huron Street)
Fully accessible
Price: $25 (more if you can, less if you can't).
Tickets: Order tickets online or send an interact transfer to info(at)jelithin.ca, include in the message area the city of the Seder, and number of tickets.
Please note: This is an alcohol free event. Grape juice (fruit of the vine) will be used for the ritual part of the Seder.
Two wonderful Liberation Seders for 2020 Passover dedicated to a free Palestine and the liberation of all peoples – one in Hamilton and one in London.
Both Seders will have the reading of the Haggadah followed by a vegetarian Middle Eastern dinner.
We suggest you have a late lunch or a pre-seder snack as the main course will not begin until about 8:30 pm.
We are also delighted to offer childcare again at this year's Seder. Please contact us in advance if you plan on bring a child that requires this service.
About this Year's Seder
This year's Seders honour and pay tribute to the Palestinian Political Prisoners. We continue to be humbled by those who resist by existing.
There can be no freedom for anyone until Palestine is free.
Our Guest Speaker
We our waiting for our guest speaker for this year's event to be confirmed.
Leading the Seder
We are pleased to announce that the Jewish Liberation Theology Institute's very own Rabbi Lucia Pizarro and Kohenet SandraLaya Ruch will co-lead this year's Seder in London.
About Rabbi Lucia Pizarro
Lucia was born in Mexico City, where she became qualified to practice law. She completed an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Essex in the UK. She followed her academic passion for Jewish thought with four years working for social justice in Palestine. She recently became a mother and a Rabbi.
About SandraLaya
SandraLaya is a mother and grandmother, a choir member, after school teacher and lay leader in her Temple community. She is an ordained Kohenet (Hebrew Priestess).
Sandra lives in Toronto area and works as a Holistic Health Care practitioner, human rights activist, and Teacher/Facilitator. She has traveled extensively for both work and pleasure. She brings a sincere openness to people and their personal beliefs and values.
Definitions of "Passover" and "Liberation Seder"
We offer the following definitions of "Passover" and "liberation seder": At Passover ("Pesach" in Hebrew), Jewish families celebrate with a ritual family dinner at which the story of the liberation of the ancient Hebrews from oppression in the land of Egypt ("Mitzrayim"), is recited. Seder means "order"—the order of the meal and ritual of Pesach that Jews all over the world have participated in for centuries. It is customary among Jews to invite guests, both Jewish and non-Jewish, to join their Passover celebration.
Our Liberation Seder draws on the legacy of Rabbi Akiva who used the Pesach Seder to plan a revolutionary struggle against the Romans, and of the many Jews in every generation who have used the Seder for political purposes, including the Partisans of the Warsaw Ghetto who began their revolt on the first night of Pesach, not only because the tactical need of the moment, but also because their understanding of the meaning of the Passover story.
As Jews committed to current liberation struggles, we enact this ritual to honor our history of resilience and participation in diverse movements for human emancipation across time. The ritual of the Seder gives us an opportunity to contend not only with legacies of oppression but also with current suffering that we survive, that we perpetrate and in which we are complicit.
Our Seder is dedicated to a free Palestine and the liberation of all peoples.